Knee-rest.



W. 'P. PEOPLES. KNEE REST. APPLIOATION FILED BEPT.25,1913.

Patented Mar. 17, 191L a 4 22 Z? I V [/l w a: J4

Witnesses Inventor,

Attorneys,

EMTED STATES PATENT QFFTCEQ WILLIAM F. PEOPLES, OF ABILENE, TEXAS.

KNEE-REST.

noaoaos.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM F. Pno- PLES, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Abilene, in the county of Taylor and State of Texas,have invented a new and useful Knee-Rest, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a knee rest particularly designed for use bycot-ton pickers and others whose occupations require that they assume akneeling posture.

Heretofore considerable annoyance from briars, burs and stones, as wellas from the hot ground, has been occasioned and, in order to overcomethe disadvantages heretofore present, the device herein disclosed hasbeen devised.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a kneeengaging cap or socket yieldingly supported by a ground engaging member,said member and socket having means for connecting them securely to theleg of the user so that, when the ground engaging portion is placed onthe ground, the knee engagin portion will actas a cushion to support t eknee comfortably and where it will be protected from briars, stones andthe like.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which can beworn comfortably while the user is in either a kneeling or a standingposition and which utilizes cushioning springs the tension of which canbe regulated as desired.

Another object is to provide a knee rest which can be easily placed inor removed from position on the leg of the user.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawing, which is a perspective view of the kneerest, the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference 1 designates a baseor ground engaging plate the front and back edges of which arepreferably bent upwardly either Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 17, 191 1.

Application filed September 25, 1913. Serial No. 791,832.

along curved or straight lines, the back edge being-cut inwardly asshown at 2, so as to provide a recess for the reception of the lowerportion of the leg of the user, while the user is standing. The cornersof the plate 1 are rounded as shown at 1* to prevent the plate fromdigging into the ground, to prevent the plate from catching on weeds,and to increase the stability of the plate when the same is tilted andrests on one corner. Extending upwardly from the sides of the base plate1 are guide stems 3 of any desired length the upper ends of which arescrew threaded as shown at 4. Stop nuts 5 are arranged on the threadedportions 4 of the stems 3 and support elongated guide plates 6 havingopenings- 7 within which the side 8 of bails 9 are adapted to slide. Thelower ends of the bails are offset inwardly, as at 10 and provided witheyes 11. The upper ends of the bails are upset or headed as shown at 12and are fitted within a plate 13 slidably mounted on the stems 3. A nut14 which engages stem 3 serves to limit the upward movement of plate 13.A coiled spring 15 is mounted on each stem or rod 3 and bears at itsends against the nut 5 and the plate 13, thus operating to hold theplate 13 normally pressed upwardly against the nut 14:.

The eyes 11 are engaged by hooks 16 extending from plates 17 which, asshown in the drawing, are fastened by rivets to the sides of a knee rest18 preferably formed of leather. The lower portion of the knee rest isbent back substantially at right angles to the upper portion, as shownat 19. so as thus to form a ledge for engagement by the knee. This lowerportion has side wings 20 held by rivets or the like to the sides of theupper portion so that the knee engaging portion is thus kept in propershape at all times. Ventilating openings 21 may be provided at anydesired points in the knee engaging portion and also serve to allowgravel and the like to escape readily from the said portion.

Slots 22 are formed in the upper end portions of the rod 3 and receive astrap 23 held by pins 22 or the like and adapted to be secured about theleg above the knee so as thus to hold the rods 3 against displacementrelative to the leg of the user. Additional straps 24 are secured to theupper corner portions of the knee engaging portion 19 and are likewiseadapted to be strapped about the leg above the knee. Other straps 25 areattached to the wings 20 and are adapted to extend about the leg of theuser at points below the knee.

In using the device, the straps 23 and 24 are secured about the legabove the knee so that rods 3 will be located about the sides of theleg. Straps 25 are secured about the leg below the knee. Thus it will beseen that while the user is standing, plate 1 will be supported in frontof the lower portion of the leg, the leg extending into the recessformed by the curved edge 2. lVhen the operator assumes a kneelingposture, the knee is projected against the engaging portion 19 and theskinrests upon the lower portion 18. The weight of the user is thusapplied to the bails 9 and these bails pull downwardly on plate 13 so asto compress springs 15 upon plates 6, the springs thus serving ascushions. Thus it will be seen that injury to the knee from stones,briars, or the like, or discomfort such as caused by the highly heatedsurface of the ground, will be prevented. The operator can kneel or risewithout causing the device to become displaced relative to the knee. Itwill be seen that by tightening the nuts 5, the tension of the spring 15can be varied.

The knee rest 18-19 is suspended above the eyes 11 and thus when weightis imposed on the knee rest, the tendency is to advance the knee intothe angle of the knee rest.

lVhat is claimed is 1. A knee rest including a flexible knee engagingportion forming a socket, bails pivotally connected to the sides of saidportion, a ground engaging member, guides extending therefrom, slidableconnections between the ba-ils and guides, and cushioning springs uponthe guides and cotiperating with said connections for retarding thedownward movement of the knee engaging portion relative to the groundengaging portion.

2. A knee rest including a ground engaging portion, guide rods extendingtherefrom, means for securing the upper end portions of the rods to theleg of the user, cushioning springs mounted on the rods, a knee engagingportion, means for attaching said portion to the knee of the user, meansmovable with the knee engaging portion for placing the springs undercompression when said portion is subjected to weight, and means forvarying the tension of the springs.

3. The combination with a ground engaging member and guide rodsextending therefrom, of a knee engaging portion, means fo-r securing thesame to a knee, means for securing the upper ends of the rods to the legof the user, plates mounted on the rods, a spring mounted on each rodbetween. the plates thereon, means for adjusting the plates relative toeach other, a bail slidably mounted in one plate and constituting meansfor shifting the other plate against the spring thereunder, and apivotal connection between each bail and the knee engaging portion. i 7

4. A knee rest including a flexible knee engaging portion forming asocket and having apertures, hooks connected to the sides of saidportion, bails pivotally engaged by the hooks, a ground engaging member,guide rods extending therefrom, slidable connections between the bailsand the rods, cushioning springs on the rods and cooperating with saidconnections for retarding the downward movement of the knee engagingportion relative to the ground engaging portion.

5. A knee rest including a flexible knee engaging portion forming asocket and having apertures, hooks connected to the sides of saidportion, bails pivotally engaged by the hooks, a ground engaging member,guide rods extending therefrom, slidable connections between the bailsand the rods, cushioning springs on the rods and cooperating with saidconnections for retarding the downward movement of the knee engagingportion relative to the ground engaging portion, means upon the rods forattaching them to the leg of the user, and means upon the knee engagingportion for attaching it to the knee of the user.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afliXedmy signa ture in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM F. PEOPLES.

Witnesses:

THOMAS J. HUMPHREYS, ZADAK D. HAILY.

Copies 0! thin patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Uommisaioner of Patents, Washington, D. C."

